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Austin Bruins

Bruins Stay Alive, Force Game 3

May 4, 2014 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Austin Bruins News Release


For the third time in the 2014 North American Hockey League (NAHL) playoffs, the Austin Bruins (47-22-2) won an elimination game to stay alive, after a 6-4 victory over the Topeka RoadRunners (46-17-7) in Game 2 of the National Semifinals Saturday at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka. The Bruins will need to do it a fourth time in a deciding Game 3 Sunday night to win the series.

Luke Dietsch (St. Paul, MN) scored twice in Game 2 for Austin, including the first goal of the night 5:05 into the first period. The put-back was Dietsch s team-leading sixth goal of the playoffs and was the only score of a first period. The Bruins finished the frame strong, outshooting Topeka 11-10.

Early in the second period, Brian Bachnak (Riverview, MI) made it 2-0 on his third goal in as many games. Bachnak capped off a great shift in the offensive zone set up by a relentless forecheck with a shot that ricocheted off of Topeka goalie PJ Bridges (Watertown, MI) and in. Jake Kamrass (Norcross, GA) put the Runners on the board with a centering pass that went off of a Bruins skate and in behind Nick Lehr (Roseville, MN). But Dietsch added his second goal on a centering pass through the slot that he fired past Bridges to give Austin a 3-1 lead after two periods.

58 seconds into the third period, Topeka picked up a power-play goal to cut the Austin lead in half, when Jasen Fernsler (Charlotte, MI) lifted a rebound over Lehr. Again the Bruins had an answer. Casey Jerry (Hudson, WI) whistled a wrist shot into the top corner to give Austin a 4-2 lead. Fernsler tallied his second of the night to move Topeka within a goal again, but after a physical shift, Joe Schuldt (Minnetonka, MN) poked in a loose puck to make it 5-3 for the Bruins. Niko Hildenbrand (Vacaville, CA) added an empty-netter to seal it. A meaningless RoadRunner power-play goal to beat the buzzer brought the final score to 6-4, as the Bruins won to force a third game. Lehr stopped 28 Topeka shots for his seventh win of the playoffs, while Bridges turned away 24 of 30 Bruins shot in his third loss.

The pivotal Game 3 is Sunday night in Topeka at 7:05pm. The winner will advance to the Robertson Cup Championship series next weekend against the winner of the other National Semifinal between Fairbanks and Michigan. Catch all the Game 3 action on fasthockey.com or 1480AM KAUS in Austin. The pregame show will start at 6:55pm.

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